Drawing joy from the art of mentoring

Graphic artist Suzanne Ito takes a spin through the Space 4 Art gallery in the East Village. Works by students from the AIGA LINK program, where Ito is a mentor, will be on display at Space 4 Art on April 1.
— John Gastaldo

Graphic artist Suzanne Ito takes a spin through the Space 4 Art gallery in the East Village. Works by students from the AIGA LINK program, where Ito is a mentor, will be on display at Space 4 Art on April 1.
— John Gastaldo

Graphic artist Suzanne Ito takes a spin through the Space 4 Art gallery in the East Village. Works by students from the AIGA LINK program, where Ito is a mentor, will be on display at Space 4 Art on April 1. — John Gastaldo

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Graphic artist Suzanne Ito takes a spin through the Space 4 Art gallery in the East Village. Works by students from the AIGA LINK program, where Ito is a mentor, will be on display at Space 4 Art on April 1.
— John Gastaldo

The wind was blasting and the rain was falling, but at the monthly workshop for students in the AIGA San Diego LINK program, the graffiti was happening anyway. Last Saturday’s storms made it a bad day for St. Patrick’s Day parades and pub crawls, but it was a good day for turning adversity into art. For the LINK students and mentors, it almost always is.

“That’s where the collective power of the program comes in,” mentor Suzanne Ito said of the outdoor workshop at the East Village’s Space 4 Art gallery, where the students painted graffiti-inspired banners despite waterlogged paint and collapsing tarps. “By ourselves, we couldn’t have done it. But together, we made it happen.”

Since 1998, the program — which was established by Candice López of the local branch of the American Institute of Graphic Arts — has made a lot of things happen for everyone involved.

For teens who are blessed with artistic talent and challenged by difficult home and school lives, LINK is all about support and inspiration. There are scholarships that help turn college dreams into reachable goals. There are workshops that turn art projects into life lessons. There are field trips that transform artistic inklings into passions.

And for the mentors — many of them art professionals like Ito — the LINK experience helps them remember why they do what they do, and why it matters.

“I’m not sure how to put it into words,” the 28-year-old graphic designer said. “Doing this really makes life worth living. It’s knowing that we’ve been able to help so many students. The excitement is contagious as much as laughter is contagious. It’s a great thing to be a part of.”

A native San Diegan who grew up in Chula Vista and still lives there, Ito joined LINK five years ago. Her knack for mentoring started long before that. From her little sister, Laura Emiko, to students at Hilltop Middle School and Hilltop High School, the oldest of Bob and Keiko Ito’s two daughters was always one for taking younger people under her wing. Probably because she was hoping someone else would do the same for her.

“In school, I always thought it would be helpful to get some advice from someone older,” Ito said over a chai tea at Caffé Calabria in North Park. “And as a first-generation college student, everything was brand new. I couldn’t ask my parents for help. I had to find my way on my own.”

Ito joined AIGA San Diego while she was a student at San Diego State University. She became a LINK mentor while she was working at Bennett Pegi Design, and while she doesn’t remember all of the details of her first workshops, she knows what made them work then and what keeps them working now.

“Ultimately, it comes down to trust and respect and giving the students a safe environment to work in,” Ito said of the workshops, which let students try their hand at painting, photography, graphic design and, yes, graffiti art. “And after that, they just need a bit of encouragement, whether it is artistic advice or just casual conversation. It’s just being there for them.”

Marisela Lopez found out about LINK while she was living in a group home. In the eight months she has been with LINK, the 16-year-old has changed schools and bounced from one living situation to another, which makes the promise of regular LINK activities and the presence of mentors like Ito her own version of home.

“Art helps me release some of my anger and some of the stress I’m feeling. When I feel like backing away from everything and everybody, I just start drawing or taking pictures,” said Marisela, who now lives and goes to school at San Diego Job Corps Center. “A lot of the kids in the program have been struggling a lot, and sometimes they want to give up. But they go for it. I am so proud of them.”

Artworks by Marisela and other LINK students will be on display April 1 at Space 4 Art. The art show is on April Fool’s Day, but when Suzanne Ito talks about what art means to the kids the LINK mentors have taken under their collective wing, she isn’t kidding around.

“Some of our students have gone through some very, very dark times, and art helps them get through it,” Ito said. “It’s very powerful because they are all in full control over how their pieces come out and how they express themselves. In school there can be strict rules and guidelines, but in the workshops, you are free to create what is in your heart.”